GREENVILLE, S.C. — On the 42nd anniversary of his hiring at Duke, and an occasion that inspired him to spell his name out loud for reporters, Mike Krzyzewski made the NCAA Tournament whole again. He still looked a bit out of place in that blue pullover Friday night, rather than the jacket-and-tie look he proudly wore at Duke and Army for the better part of a half century. 

But even the haters had to admit that it was kind of good to see him out there in this last go-around, and that March Madness missed Coach K last year nearly as much as it missed arenas packed with fans. In fact, with COVID canceling The Dance in 2020, Krzyzewski was returning to the tournament for the first time since he lost that Elite Eight game to Michigan State with his Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett, Cam Reddish team. Yeah, that crushing defeat only seems like it went down 15 years ago. 

“It felt great to be back here,” Krzyzewski said with conviction. 

It felt even greater, his late friend Jimmy Valvano would have confirmed, to have survived and advanced. 

Of course, this is Krzyzewski’s 36th and final trip to NCAAs, and at the very least he dodged the misery of a one-and-done sendoff. Second-seeded Duke beat 15th-seeded Cal State Fullerton, 78-61, dismissing an older team that thought it could exploit the Blue Devils’ youth and inexperience. 

This was career victory No. 1,199 for Coach K, and who the heck knows if he will make it to 1,200? The Blue Devils have four first-round picks in their lineup, maybe five, so they have the talent to make a meaningful run at Krzyzewski’s sixth championship. 

But March Madness follows no script. Though this is the one sporting event associated with Cinderella more than any other, fairy-tale endings are in short supply. 

John Wooden’s last game at UCLA was his 10th victory in a national title game. Krzyzewski’s? As connected as Duke appeared against Cal State Fullerton, the whole thing could come tumbling down Sunday, and nobody knows that better than Coach K. 

He was worried that his freshmen stars would be too nervous in their NCAA debut to honor all the good, spirited work they had done in practice, especially on the defensive end. Krzyzewski was worried about that because, at age 75, he was also nervous about his 128th NCAA Tournament game. 

He saw what happened to John Calipari at Kentucky. As much as Krzyzewski hated that Duke lost to North Carolina (of all teams) in his Cameron Indoor Stadium farewell, he would have been devastated had his career ended on a shocking loss to a huge underdog in an arena that houses a primary tenant known as the Greenville Swamp Rabbits. (You can look them up.) 

Krzyzewski had a problem (rightfully so) with the court at Bon Secours Wellness Arena, which had Wendell Moore and other Blue Devils slipping and sliding all over the place. He also had a problem (rightfully so) with the thousands of empty seats that greeted both teams for warmups, the result of building officials moving out the day session crowd and ushering in the night session crowd. 

Where were the standing, stomping, roaring fans for the layup lines? Where was the school band blaring its triumphant music above the pregame din? Is someone going to show up? Coach K asked himself. 

“If there’s some way in the future to change that,” said Krzyzewski, who won’t be part of that future. 

He was still in a good mood after watching five Blue Devils score in double figures, and after watching his defense force Cal State Fullerton to miss 40 of 64 shots, so he told a joke about that damn slippery floor. 

“I know it wasn’t the shoes,” he said. “Nike called me and wanted me to make sure I didn’t say it was the shoes.” 

Forty-two years ago on this date, March 18, Krzyzewski was not any sneaker company’s money player. He was a 9-17 coach at West Point who somehow landed an ACC job out of left field. “Duke selects Army’s loser!” screamed one newspaper headline. 

Krzyzewski didn’t go home a loser Friday night. Paolo Banchero, a former NCAA Tournament ballboy, lived out a dream with 17 points and 10 rebounds and called it a “real surreal experience.” The Blue Devils looked fresher to everyone who had seen them staggering about in recent weeks, and their enhanced communication on defense spoke to their heightened urgency to get it right … or else. 

“I just thought it was a great game for us to play,” Krzyzewski said. “We played better tonight than we have been playing. … It’s exciting. I mean, we’ve won an NCAA game. These kids have won an NCAA game. In order to win something, you have to win NCAA games.” 

Krzyzewski has won more of them (98) than any coach dead or alive. So yes, the NCAA Tournament needed him back in it — one last time for the road.